March 19

1831 – In the first documented bank heist in U.S. history, burglars steal $245,000 from the City Bank -now Citibank -on Wall Street.

1863 – The SS Georgiana, a iron hulled steamer, reputedly designed to be the “most powerful” cruiser in the Confederate fleet when finally armed, is destroyed in action by USS Wissahickon, off Charleston, South Carolina, while being delivered by its builder in Scotland.

1918 – Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.

1920 – The Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time, the first time being on November 19, 1919.

1931 – Governor Fred B. Balzar signs into law a bill legalizing gambling in Nevada.

1943 – The day before his appearance to testify in front of a Grand Jury, Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone’s imprisonment, instead commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.

1958 – A fire at the Monarch Underwear Company building in Manhattan, causes the deaths of 24 workers.

1964 – In São Paulo, over 500,000 Brazilians attend the March of the Family with God for Liberty, in protest against the government of João Goulart and against communism.

1965 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000  is discovered by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence.

1979 – The House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day to day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.

1982 – Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, southwest of the Falkland Islands, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.

2008 – Gamma Ray Burst GRB 080319B,  detected by the Swift satellite, sets a new record for the farthest object visible to the naked eye, seen at magnitude 5.7 for over 30 seconds.